A recent study from HNTB Corporation takes a look at public transportation and what Americans think about using, improving and paying for it.

The HNTB America THINKS transit survey found 87 percent Americans who have access to public transportation where they work or live take advantage of it. In addition, 69 percent Americans feel there are many times when public transit is a better option than driving.

Biggest motivators for taking transit among people who have access to transit, according to the survey, are high gas prices (29 percent) and convenience (29 percent). The fact that transit is safer than driving was a motivator of just 1 percent of respondents.
Among other findings:

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood is touting Transfortation for America's survey showing 59% of Americans would choose to reduce road congestion by adding more transportation options to the mix.

"People are always going to drive cars. And we are always going to rely on the hardworking trucking community to haul our nation's freight. We’ve made a huge investment in our interstate highway system, and that's not going away. We are going to continue maintaining that investment," LaHood says in his blog, FastLane. "But we do have many modes of transportation in this country, many different ways of getting around. Why not make room at the table for bicycling and walking?"